Incidentally, DRDO chief M Natarajan has just said that the MCA will not be a fifth generation fighter. He said the aicraft would be an advanced fourth-generation fighter (whatever that means), and that, only if they can get up to speed on stealth concepts.
All Photos by Shiv Aroor / LiveFist
Thanks alot! What a design. It looks to me as a revised version of the F-22 Raptor with lot of changes. I want to see the real MCA in IAF color.
It will not take much time like LCA, because of experience, infrastructure and money are available.
I suppose the first unofficial description abt MCA was that they had no tail-plain (2 reduce RCS) , but relied on 3D Thrust vectoring …
Is the model presented here Wind tunnel tested … & finalized ?
Great to see the wind tunnel model of MCA. It means work has already started!!! Features are obviously great and of great standards… Now only thing to do is to complete the project in time……Best wishes to the MCA team…..
Getting a bit ahead of ourselves arent we? DRDO hasnt even managed to produce an LCA, 30 years after the program began. Im guessing the MCA will take….. ohhh, till 2040?
Nice model.
Will it ever materialize?
Looks like a f22 raptor…What say?
Looks quite similar to the F22 Raptor …
any details u managed to collect about this MCA mr. aroor?????
So… clearly the MCA and PAK-FA projects have merged. Why does DRDO keep designating them as separate entities. The concepts are nearly identical.
P.S. The crude sheet metal mock up and slide look like theyve been made by someone in junior school.
Beauty. I hope they receive required funding from GOI.
The air intakes are critical for reducing the radar signature and making this a stealth aircraft. Pic 1 may be an indicator of how much stealth this puppy can have. I suppose it may be no better than any existing 4.5 gen aircraft. OTOH, large intakes must be good for thrust generation.
that’s nothing to worry ,shiv…the mca will look totally different from that..i have pics of the lca wind tunnel model with me…if u see those you won’t believe that (if u compare with the present prototypes)..the wind tunnel model almost looked like the gripen with box intakes and canard foreplanes.
that Note in the 3rd image clearly says it is conceptual design…so these model has nothing to do with MCA…grow up..man…and don’t post everything crap you find…
It is just an conceptual design..It is not MCA.
That NOTE in the 3rd image..clearly says..it is just conceptual…
what is the meaning of two engined gen 5 aircraft,PAK FA also is 2 engined and better develop a single engined gen 5 aircraft thats more economic
I don’t think Pak FA and MCA will be merged.
Me thinks that the technical knowledge gained by the the participation of HAL on PAK FA project will be used MCA to be a better.
It is always comforting to know we can build good quality “Desi aircrafts” at will in event of a war
At the conceptual design stage i think a point needs to mentioned here.
If the MCA needs to have TVC it will have to increase the space between the engines exhausts
It might not be a boost to the ego, but if we compare where India was only a decade ago I think India needs to plan ahead but take baby steps first to get there.No point trying to equal the Americans right now.A perfect plan is collaboration and even copying like the Made in China stuff which will give India the know how, access to sharp technology and then India can stand alone and produce technology.Unfortunately the DRDO is thinking ahead of itself especialy the fact there are still technology availability barriers and as a result neither are they reaching their objectives nor are they plugging the obvious gaps in Indian defence.The other problem is the whole defence area is now ruled by South Indians who are great thinkers and smart technicians but too lay back and generally pacifists in nature.India needs to merge the “brains” with the Shivaji spirit.
correctly said its a pak-fa
Bobs,
There were at least two designs of the LCA that were in consideration. One was the one that you mention – with canards. Eventually, the present design was chosen.
This displayed model is not necessarily the final design. Earlier DRDO wanted a tail-less configuration, now this F-22 like design.
Bobs,
There were at least two designs of the LCA that were in consideration. One was the one that you mention – with canards. Eventually, the present design was chosen.
This displayed model is not necessarily the final design. Earlier DRDO wanted a tail-less configuration, now this F-22 like design.
friends look at the butt of the model it looks like a marut.
And HAL wont be participating in PAF FA, just reproducing it like Su 30 mki and probobly sitting together with sukhoi when the one seater russian aircraft gets coverted to 2 seater aircraft for india. India’s contribution to PAK FA would be 50% at the end of 50year life cycle……mostly providing money…..
By the way why does india need a two seater aircraft, Both MMRCA and PAK fa would be 2 seaters…..are IAF pilots afraid to fly alone or is it that the IAF found out that the reason for the MiG crashes were due to pilot black-outs so for safety reasons IAF have vowed to have 2 seater aircraft…….
Divine @ 9:44am
Its not that DRDO wants this “f-22” design…its simply because the Indo-Rus FGFA (known as PAK-FA) has reached a dead end.So,its the IAF which has encouraged DRDO to go ahead with the plans..(albeit modified ,to accommodate the needs of a heavy duty FGFA along with the original mca design)
OK,
Where is the definite confirmed news report that the PAK-FA programme is dead?
The copious amount of blood letting that has taken place in the media and various fora over the Gorshkov saga is well known. The truth lies somewhere in the fact that the price escalation is because India has contracted for certain measures that are secret and shocking enough.
Soon you will hear the news of the Nerpa issue being resolved like there was never a problem, there is also a rumour now of four akulas in the deal with atleast two in functional service with the Indian Navy, the ADS, and Indo-Russian cooperative effort will also hit the seas this year.
In the final analysis, the Indo-Russian defence cooperation remains in as firm a footing as it ever was.
Bobs,could you send me the pics of the LCA wind tunnel model with the canards and box air inlets??
I would really appreciate it if you could.
Thank you
divine @ 8:36pm
sorry sir, i can’t disclose my source…it amounts to treason…yeah i know we have plans for ‘n’ number of akulas….last year a russian general had disclosed this…and btw,the pak-fa can still be resolved if the powers that matter agree.
Hmm… even the Raptor has huge air intakes. But the shape of the inside surface of the intake are strange, as if to minimize reflections.
Why did they choose to base the model on the Raptor ?
Why didn’t they choose YF-23 instead, its a better design(stealthier)…
arun @ 1:43 am
lemme see,if I can scan and upload it…I had taken it with a reel camera long ago.
btw, a snap is available here:
http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/media/AeroIndia2005/Exhibits/WindTunnelModelNAL.jpg.html
bobs …..thats not a tejas model, what would it be doing at aero india 2005 exebution? Moreover as far as i remember the model that you are speaking was made of a different material……and yeah its really a shame that tejas has such small intakes…..i doubt whether it exploits the full potntial of the current engine…..
i think the link that i posted is of the LCA model..iirc, there were 2 models kept side by side ;the first one and the latest….the model in that pic is similar to the one in the photograph with me….the material was same:-tin…but I have one more pic ,taken in 1991..which has a model in the wind tunnel..this one looks similar to the present LCA tejas..dunno abt material..the model is white in colour.
yeah i have seen the white one……
I am no expert but the wing design dont seem to give the plane enough control serface at the back end. India should go for a more simple wing design like the f-22, widen the body for more storage, and move the tail forward a little more. BTW, the big flappy control on the wing makes the plane look terrible.
India should definitely go for a copy of f-22 Raptor–an excellent design; invest some more time and money into kaveri engine, and focus on developing stealth technology/concepts. If they do this, in 5 years they will have a very good 5th generation fighter WITH KAVERI ENGINE. Their current approach of developing a 4.5 generation fighter from scratch will take more time, money, give them less knowledge of stealth tech/conceps and slow down indigenization of kaveri.
My idiotic brothers,keep ur crap words away from this blog.I dont understand how u say the f22 wing desing is simple,when it is one of the uniquest with an orthodox air intake. The mca is a totally diffent story,there 5 different wind tunnel models of which 2 r single engined,all these r not meant for common masses and r not disclosed.& for those idiots who were talking about south indians,i dont understand what the fuck u know!,morons.i am an southindian & proud to b an indian serving for the nation.OVER N OUT.jai hind(arun kurup working for DRDO)
My idiotic brothers,keep ur crap words away from this blog.I dont understand how u say the f22 wing desing is simple,when it is one of the uniquest with an orthodox air intake. The mca is a totally diffent story,there 5 different wind tunnel models of which 2 r single engined,all these r not meant for common masses and r not disclosed.& for those idiots who were talking about south indians,i dont understand what the fuck u know!,morons.i am an southindian & proud to b an indian serving for the nation.OVER N OUT.jai hind(arun kurup working for DRDO)
Thanks Bobs, for the picture. I think we should have the design with the canards and box intakes incorporated into the mark 2 design. Then we should probably start testing with the F414, and optimize airflow to the engine so that there is a potential to extract at least 30% more thrust from the F414. And we should simultaneously set a higher goal with the kaveri engine, and start designing a higher thrust version, with the 30% more airflow, and a 20% increase in turbine inlet temperatures. Flat rating is good when we can have the required minimum thrust, but if we dont, its not an advantage. DRDO should stop worrying about thrust vectoring for now, and design the new engine(based on knowledge gained in the kaveri design) and have SNECMA and some other company compete for solutions to specific problems than have them do the whole design. Every project runs into problems, and it is imperative that the problems are fixed, but also that we learn from the problems. Engine development is a dynamic process, and there is a lot to be learned. Such an engine, if development starts right now, should be completed in 6 years( including integration into the aircraft). It is possible to do this if there is a dedicated platform built for engine development. And the new engine with the higher flow rate and higher operating temps, should have an initial target thrust of 120KN.
Thanks,
Arun
There are a few inherent flaws in the
MCA wind tunnel model:
1. Round engine nozzles:
If they’re round, there would be no reduction in IR signature, leaving it vulnerable to IR AAMs.
2. Front-aspect stealth:
The MCA is only stealthy from the front quarter, like the F-35 Lightning II. You can easily paint a radar lock on the plane at any other angle, whereas the F-22 Raptor has all-aspect stealth.
3. Lack of thrust vectoring:
2D thrust vectoring would be useful on the MCA, significantly enhancing its maneuverability in an airspace of HOBS IR AAMs.